12 St. James Street

Webb Yates Engineers were appointed by Equinox, a luxury fitness company, to undertake the civil and structural engineering design services for the redevelopment of a former bank into a luxury boutique fitness club.

The former bank building stands in a prominent position at the corner of St. James’s Street and Kings Street. It is believed that the building was built between 1910-1912 and it is located within the St James’s Street conservation area. The building consists of seven storeys plus a roof plant deck and a basement.

The external alterations were kept to a minimum in order to maintain the building’s historical prominence, however extensive work was done to the interior, in order to accommodate structural and functional requirements of the brief.

Following a detailed structural survey of the existing building, redevelopment works were carried out at basement, ground and mezzanine levels and the space was redeveloped into a luxury gym. There are new safe access platforms within the service riser, and non-structural works at roof level. The main structural alterations included the design of a grand staircase and balustrade with a double curved bulkhead.